Total pages in book: 20
Estimated words: 18070 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 90(@200wpm)___ 72(@250wpm)___ 60(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 18070 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 90(@200wpm)___ 72(@250wpm)___ 60(@300wpm)
I wasn’t a harden criminal. I didn’t acclimate to my surroundings or become institutionalized like many before me had. That may be because I knew I didn’t belong there.
That I was nothing like the other inmates who’d been sent there because they were in fact guilty. I found that my thoughts were once again leading me down a dark path so I throttled back; not in front of my kid.
“Good morning, I moved into the room to join them. My boy looked up at me excitedly and I was touched once again at the ease with which he’d accepted me. I had his mother to thank for that.
Apparently she’d only sung my praises to him, assuring him that his dad wasn’t a murderer. It couldn’t have been easy seeing as how everyone else around had bought that shit hook line and sinker. Well those who didn’t know me anyway.
I kissed my boy on the head and laid one on his mom that made him snicker like the kid that he is, warmed my fucking heart.
She brought me coffee while I sat with my son who was all but shaking with excitement. “I had to tell him to let you sleep. I’m surprised you didn’t feel him coming in and out of the room to look at you.”
I knew what that was about. “Didn’t I tell you I wasn’t going nowhere?” I ruffled his hair and he grinned. “I know dad, I just wanted to see you.”
He picked up from where he left off the night before, back to asking me twenty questions. I answered the best I could without taking him too deep into the fuckery that had become of my life.
But it was his reaction and some of the questions he asked that got my ears burning. When you’ve been caged for the better part of ten years with nothing better to do but plot revenge, you pick up a few skills.
One of mine was the ability to listen very well and hear what wasn’t being said most of the time. There was something in my kid’s voice that didn’t sit right with me.
And when I looked at his eyes there was almost a pleading in them. “Shell I’m gonna take Junior to school today. That reminds me, we have to see about a car sometime today too.”
I didn’t take my eyes off him as his shoulders drooped in relief. I took that to mean that I’d read him correctly and he wanted to talk to me alone, away from his mother.
We both kept our cool through breakfast and she didn’t catch on that there was anything going on. The kid, like his old man, was dying to get on my ride, but I had to promise to pick him up from school that way.
“We can’t really talk over the noise. How about I walk you there and pick you up on the bike this evening?” He accepted that easily enough and took my hand.
“Is there something on your mind son?” I didn’t push, just gave him time to decide what and when he was ready to talk. If there’s one thing I learned on the inside it’s how important one’s own independence is.
Then he opened his mouth and it was all I could do to keep my cool. I questioned him until I got it all out of him, and to show him that his dad was always going to believe him, I didn’t show any doubt.
“I’ll take care of it, don’t worry about it anymore okay.” I kept my voice calm and squeezed his hand reassuringly as we reached the school gate.
“I’ll meet you here after school buddy.” There was a lump in my throat that I had to clear twice so as not to alert him to just how fucking upset I was.
Once again he looked at me as if afraid to leave me. I got down to eye level and clasped his shoulder. “I’m never going to leave you again, stop worrying.” He nodded and turned and ran to catch up to some friends who’d called out to him.
As I walked away I reminded myself to get him a phone so he could call me whenever he got scared that I would leave him again. But right now there was something of greater importance for me to deal with.
I hurried back to the apartment knowing that the day I had planned was not to be. “Shelly where the hell are you?”
I slammed the door and went in search of her. Breathe Kane, let her explain before you ring her
neck. I was damn near seeing red and I knew that there was going to be that one thing that is going to set my ass off to the point of no return. I just might’ve found that shit.